Escape To The Chateau - General Discussion

[Chit Chat]

59 minutes ago, buttersister said:

The giraffe legs made no sense in a chateau. And as whimsy? More disturbing than whimsical in my book.

I agree!  I don't think the theater chairs belonged in there either.   Maybe it looks better in person!  

[BradandJanet]

I like that Arthur pointed out that giraffes have four legs. I think Angel was so surprised to find the giraffe legs, she couldn't resist buying them. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I’ve just discovered this show, so I’ll look forward to catching up on all the posts here.  Initially, I was confused by the show...lots of faces, buildings and heavy accents.  Parents and grandparents appear close in age, imo.  This project seems monumental. Reminds me of all the work Downtown Abby required. It put me in the mood for a nice glass of wine and cheese tray. Lol

[Chit Chat]

21 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I’ve just discovered this show, so I’ll look forward to catching up on all the posts here.  

Welcome!  I was late to the party too, so I'm also catching up on past episodes.  Dick and Angel seem like very nice people, so it's been nice to watch them as they renovate their castle and make it a venue for weddings.  So far, it's a no over-the-top drama kind of show!  Yay!  Just what I need these days.  😉  

[DoctorAtomic]

I got the replay of the xmas episode last night. I think that was the first one I saw. They went to an outdoor market which really looked nice. There were so many outdoor markets when I lived in Japan, it's my jam. 

[Chit Chat]

From Dick & Angel's FB page:  "Hello to all of our lovely American followers! We just wanted to remind you that the latest episode of Escape to the Chateau will be airing this Sunday on HGTV. We may be well into spring however you can’t beat a Christmas throwback, can you? It’s Christmas at The Chateau and Angel gets crafty with the decorations. The Strawbridges serve up a magical evening to celebrate The Chateau’s extended work family…we hope you enjoy the episode!"

[dosodog]

I do not decorate for Christmas?  But if I did?  I would 100% craft that Advent bucket strand.  That was so cute and what a great way to use Christmas cards!

I love this show.  I love the family. 

ETA:  There is another episode right after called ETTC Restoring The Dream.  I think it will be a 3 parter.  All I can say 30 minutes in is:

Dick is amazing.  

Edited April 4, 2021 by dosodog

[Chit Chat]

15 hours ago, dosodog said:

I do not decorate for Christmas?  But if I did?  I would 100% craft that Advent bucket strand.  That was so cute and what a great way to use Christmas cards!

I just watched the episode.  Angel is so darn creative!  Puts me to shame!  And using volleyballs and the like for Christmas ornaments?  Brilliant!!  

It was really nice seeing them go to such lengths to create a nice meal and gifts for all of the people who help them throughout the year.  Watching the thought that went into everything makes me wish that my boss had just one ounce of the gratitude that they show for their staff!

I'm also happy to see how they include the kids in so many of the day-to-day projects.  Dick is a fantastic Dad for letting Arthur stomp in the mud like that!  I used to do that with my son, and he loved it!  They let them be kids, but they're also showing them some useful skills along the way.  It's really nice to see that kind of parenting.  Kids feel important when they're included in making little decisions. It builds their confidence too. 

What a lovely family.  

[Chit Chat]

I just saw the episode 'Restoring the Chateau.'  This is what I've been wanting to see - the behind the scenes kind of stuff and how they came to find the chateau in the first place.  I love seeing the little items they've found in the attic and  the out-buildings.  I like the way Angel decorated the walls surrounding the lift.  It's pretty interesting.  I'm glad that Dick decided to let the roofing experts go out on the roof instead of himself!  Yikes that looks scary!

[DoctorAtomic]

Where was the one on?

[Chit Chat]

10 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Where was the one on?

I'm not even sure which channel it's on!  I just set my DVR to record new & rerun episodes on all channels.  

[eyelash]

On 3/28/2021 at 1:05 PM, ChitChat said:

I try to imagine what life was like back when this castle was in its heyday.  There were probably glorious parties and beautifully dressed people everywhere!  Things were probably bustling around the castle, much like it is now whenever they have a wedding there.  

I keep hoping they'll have a costume and role playing party set in the year the Chateau was first occupied.  Guests could play an original member of the household or staff.  I'd volunteer to be an extra, swanning around the grounds in period attire!

[DoctorAtomic]

I imagine it was hard and dirty business back then, with no electricity and having to keep the house warm in winter. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I've read that there are all kinds of tours, and experiences at the Chateau too.  There's one where you pay, and work with Dick and the others on the farming.    

[dosodog]

19 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Where was the one on?

I watched it on Hulu Live, on Saturday, right after the Christmas episode, on HGTV.

[DoctorAtomic]

I record on PBS and HGTV, but maybe it's a different title for the episode. I deleted two of them because I thought they were the same. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Last Saturday on HGTV, 6 p.m. was the Christmas party for all of the people who work on the Chateau, and at 7 p.m. Central, the first part of a three part (I think three parts) series looking back at the entire restoration.  

[Chit Chat]

On 4/5/2021 at 2:49 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

I imagine it was hard and dirty business back then, with no electricity and having to keep the house warm in winter. 

Hopefully the staff that ran the place were well taken care of.  They had one heck of a job in keeping the castle going.  On the episode about restoring the castle, they said that each floor was approximately 2300 sq. ft.  Can you imagine all of that space to heat?  

We took a "Butler's" tour of the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, and it was fascinating going behind-the-scenes from the usual tour and seeing how the staff ran that home.  It has 250 rooms compared to the Chateau's 45 rooms.  Our tour guide said that the staff was treated well.  Even their quarters had a lovely view of the mountains!   They actually had steam heat that ran throughout the whole house.  They were quite advanced in their time.  Anyway, since this is about the Chateau and not the Biltmore Estate, I brought this up just to say that having seen what it takes to run a huge home like that,  I can appreciate what the staff did to keep the Chateau going.  I wonder how many people worked there.  Would they have lived in the castle or in the outbuildings?  I'm not sure if some of those buildings were once living quarters or not. 

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by ChitChat

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm starting to see places I recognize now. Yesterday, I watched where they first made up the craft room at the top. I liked that they repurposed a whole bunch of stuff. 

I also liked that they showed the ins and outs of actually planning one of the weddings. I hadn't seen that yet. 

[Chit Chat]

I enjoyed this episode.  That new stove for the commercial kitchen was fabulous!  What an ordeal to get it in the castle though.  Yikes!  Although I'm just an average cook,  I would've enjoyed going into that big kitchen store and rummaging around all of the kitchen tools, etc.  I'm hoping he took Arthur to a toy store after that!  He was a good sport about helping with the kitchen items.  It's so nice to see parents who actually expect their children to behave and to help out a little bit.  They are such a nice family.   I liked the simple, but very nice party they threw for Dorothy.  I thought it was quite lovely.  Angel said that Dorothy is kind of shy when making friends.   Who wouldn't accept an invitation to a party at a castle though!  It was just enough kids that shouldn't have overwhelmed her.  She looked happy. 

Maybe one day they'll have everything organized in the castle, but all of the clutter would drive me nuts!  Angel has a lot of stuff!   She uses a lot of it though, so I can understand why she picks up odds and ends of things when she sees them.  She's very creative.

[biakbiak]

56 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

Angel has a lot of stuff!   

Seriously! They probably needed to buy a chateau so they would have the space to store things!!!

[buttersister]

Dehillerin is cooking/baking heaven. I had already filled my carryon from a China outlet (back in the day of the franc and generous carryons), but managed a knife and a bowl scraper. Seeing Dick’s haul made me a bit envious. And their kitchens! 

[Chit Chat]

I enjoyed seeing the original blueprints that were framed and hanging on the wall.   I love stuff like that.  

Dick & Angel were right in wanting to keep their personal kitchen separate from the business.  The commercial one will be so much more functional for everybody who helps in the wedding prep.  Dick is certainly a jack of all trades!  

[Frost]

I just watched a more recent episode where they put down a flagstone patio in the front and put up two large Victorian aviaries.  The cat was having a grand old time!  They're going to have to find a winter home for those birds though.  I'm not even sure they'd last though a bad thunderstorm!  

[Chit Chat]

3 hours ago, Frost said:

The cat was having a grand old time! 

I love the random video of the cats wandering around!  That is a great life for them.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

The tiles made from the wallpaper under the stairs is amazing, and the wallpaper from the under side of the stairs was fantastic too.   I love the wooden dish drainer. 

The glamping people coming in by helicopter was wild.  Dick may have been a great engineer, but he certainly never was a pilot.   The helicopter, and loose ground anything don't mix.   

I can't wait for next week, and the trip to Monet's gardens.  

My guess is the massive amount of repairs that the chateau needed, and the updating costs were massive.  Not everyone has the passion to restore and operate something like the chateau.     With the tours, events, glamping, and other paid events at the chateau, I'm hoping they at least break even.   But there is no way that someone could pay to restore the chateau just for their own use, unless they had endless amounts of money.   

Edited April 18, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[DoctorAtomic]

I was like, why the hell are they landing a chopper?! 

Did they say how the chateau ever fell in to disrepair, or if there's any descentants around? 

 

[DoctorAtomic]

I defy anyone here to not attend a unicorn party. 

[buttersister]

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

can't wait for next week, and the trip to Monet's gardens.  

I missed the preview. Very excited for this--it's such a magical place. Maybe they'll put water Lillies in the moat!

[Mannahatta]

2 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Did they say how the chateau ever fell in to disrepair, or if there's any descendants around?

https://thechateau.tv/histoire

According to "L’Histoire - By Dick Strawbridge":

Quote

Prior to us finding Chateau de la Motte Husson, it had been passed down through generations of the de Baglion family. Latterly Guy de Baglion de la Dufferie had received the bare title to it from Xavier Marie Octave, Count de Baglion de la Dufferie and his wife, Elisabeth Marie Joseph Marthe Charlotte Treton de Vaujuas de Langan in 1954, as a part of a dowry. He owned the chateau until his death in 1999, when it passed to his wife and children.

We found The Chateau in October 2014 and purchase was completed January 2015. Our neighbours include members of the de Baglion family, who have been nothing but welcoming and continued to maintain the property even after we had paid our deposit. The family was going to tidy the attic and outbuilding and throw away all the ‘rubbish’. Fortunately we discovered this, in one of our trips to do some measuring, and managed to save treasures that vary from hundreds of pre-WWI magazines to a side-saddle and pieces of Victorian clothing.

However, Dick's history doesn't answer why the chateau fell into disrepair. I'm guessing the widow and children of Count de Baglion de la Dufferie had other homes to live in and/or lacked the needed energy and funds to maintain it. The descendants sound like nice people.

But at least the chateau was left standing. I recently read a fascinating book, "Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt". The size, number and opulence of the mansions the Vanderbilt family built, in New York City alone, was head spinning. And the sad part is that most were demolished within just a few decades. One massive mansion, called the Petit Chateau, was built in 1886 and demolished in 1927. They were all too expensive to maintain and the land became more valuable than the buildings. So I'm finding it very satisfying to watch Dick and Angel bring the chateau back to life.

 

[Chit Chat]

17 hours ago, Mannahatta said:

So I'm finding it very satisfying to watch Dick and Angel bring the chateau back to life.

I like how they're trying to save things like the wallpaper and using it in unique ways (kitchen tiles).   I do worry that Angel is going to go overboard (pun intended) with boats, etc. in the moat.  Don't junk it up, Angel!!  

I kind of felt sorry for the geese when I saw the look on their faces as their eggs were being taken away!  I'm sure they edited it that way and the geese probably didn't notice or care.  ;)  I've never cooked an egg like they did, but it looked good.  

 

 

[Chit Chat]

21 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I defy anyone here to not attend a unicorn party. 

It was funny to hear Arthur talk about evil unicorns and then how Dick sternly told him that there would be no evil unicorns at Dorothy's party!  It's really nice to see parents who are actually teaching their children how to do things and who still discipline them.  I've seen too many kids in the dental office who aren't getting either of these things.  

[DoctorAtomic]

Sternly? He barely let it get out of the boy's mouth. Like, noooo. We're not doing that. At. All. 

[Chit Chat]

49 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

He barely let it get out of the boy's mouth. Like, noooo. We're not doing that. At. All. 

I think he told him at least twice that there will be no evil unicorns at the party.  Followed with a "did you hear me" or something to that effect!!  I thought it was stern, and rightfully so!! 

[DoctorAtomic]

Yeah, I just meant Dick shut it down fast. 

[Chit Chat]

9 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Yeah, I just meant Dick shut it down fast. 

Lol!  Sometimes when I'm out and about, I run into the occasional kid acting like a brat and the parent(s) stand there and do nothing to stop it.  It was rather refreshing to see Dick shut that idea down pronto. Reminiscent of the days when a parent - especially a Dad - could give you one look and you knew were in deep doo doo if you didn't straighten up right away!  I respect that immensely!  

Dorothy and Arthur appear to be good kids.  What a fun life they have.  I hope some day that one or both of them want to continue to live there and keep the castle going.  It would be big enough for several families to live in if they both wanted to stay.   

[DoctorAtomic]

They're showing the one about adding the aviaries to the front, but the Chateau is actually asymmetric. 

[Chit Chat]

I saw on their FB page where you can pay a monthly fee and see them via video once a month showing you around the castle and talking about what's going on with them.  It's Subscription Salon.    Looks like fun, but I don't plan on joining it.   You will receive some gifts from it though!   If anybody signs on, let us know what you think!

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm watching one where they're doing a retro on how they all started. 

I'm going to call some bs on 'their limited budget.' They're shopping for chateau ffs. 

Interesting to see it pre renovation though. One floor is bigger than my house. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

The trip to Monet's gardens was so amazing.  

[Chit Chat]

36 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Interesting to see it pre renovation though. One floor is bigger than my house. 

Four floors of approx. 2300 sq. ft each!  That's a lot of house to clean!  I'm not sure how many rooms are for wedding guests now.  I'm assuming that they and the children are on the same floor.  I wouldn't want them on separate floors while they're so young.  

[DoctorAtomic]

You clearly have to chip the kids. 

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The trip to Monet's gardens was so amazing.  

I don't use breathtaking often. Similarly, I was able to go to the Rodin gardens. Just wow. 

So, in the watching of the retro episode I previously mentioned, it didn't have *plumbing*. I figured it didn't have heating, and they said there was something like 15 fireplaces, but you can't burn all that wood nowadays.

Dick said something like they needed more heating, and Angel said it got so hot that she had to take off her jumpers. I don't know what they are, but Dick perked totally up, and they both were like, 'ooh camera' which was hilarious. 

Dick showed all the piping installed. That's a lot. Then some guy literally climbed up the entire building. 

[biakbiak]

8 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I'm going to call some bs on 'their limited budget.' They're shopping for chateau ffs. 

For which they paid about $380k for it and 10 acres which is very good deal and clearly went a lot farther than it would in many, many places or a finished one. And it actually was in fairly decent shape.

Edited April 25, 2021 by biakbiak

[Koalagirl]

6 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

You clearly have to chip the kids. 

I don't use breathtaking often. Similarly, I was able to go to the Rodin gardens. Just wow. 

So, in the watching of the retro episode I previously mentioned, it didn't have *plumbing*. I figured it didn't have heating, and they said there was something like 15 fireplaces, but you can't burn all that wood nowadays.

Dick said something like they needed more heating, and Angel said it got so hot that she had to take off her jumpers. I don't know what they are, but Dick perked totally up, and they both were like, 'ooh camera' which was hilarious. 

Dick showed all the piping installed. That's a lot. Then some guy literally climbed up the entire building. 

Jumpers are sweaters. 

[sempervivum]

11 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

So, in the watching of the retro episode I previously mentioned, it didn't have *plumbing*. I figured it didn't have heating, and they said there was something like 15 fireplaces, but you can't burn all that wood nowadays.

The chateau is 1868, right? My 1872 house has 5 fireplaces, but they all were designed to burn coal. It's possible the chateau's fireplaces weren't (all) wood burning. 

11 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Dick said something like they needed more heating, and Angel said it got so hot that she had to take off her jumpers. I don't know what they are, but Dick perked totally up,

Jumpers are traditionally sweaters, but I think the English refer to t-shirts as jumpers now as well.

[DoctorAtomic]

Angel and Dick had a giggle fit about the jumpers. 

I didn't think the fireplaces would burn coal. I only had wood stoves growing up, and they showed one stove on the show burning wood. It could have been a mix. 

[Chit Chat]

I really liked the stone that they put down in front of the castle.  It looks so much better than having it all in gravel.  The aviaries are beautiful too.   They didn't appear to be weighted down enough though.  One bad storm and those things will go flying if not anchored down properly!!

As I watch this show, I keep thinking about thing in pre-covid terms.  It's a shame that they got things looking so good, then covid hit.  I guess on the positive side, it gave them a lot of time with their remodeling so that they'd be ready to go once they could receive guests again. 

[DoctorAtomic]

The stones are sensible because it's probably easier to put the chairs out for the weddings and you're not kicking up a lot of dust. 

 

[Chit Chat]

Angel said that after having the gravel put down, she later realized she hated it!  It did look like a big parking lot with just the gravel, even though it was practical at the time.  The stone is a perfect compliment to the Chateau.  

Why is that old van/bus thing over there where the guests go to dine (next to the circus tent?)  It needs to be moved. 

Edited April 26, 2021 by ChitChat

[CrazyInAlabama]

The old van/bus is the old vehicle that Dick converted into a place to chill the wine, and champagne, and beer and I think they do cocktails too.    The reception area (where they put a tent next to it for a children's play area), is plenty big enough for receptions, but not to put in a full bar, with all of the chillers, etc. that the vehicle does.  

Edited April 25, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama